Mental stress and musculoskeletal symptoms in physical therapy students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic changed the lives of students and affected their physical and mental health. There is no clear consensus regarding the relationship between mental stress and musculoskeletal symptoms in physical therapy students. Objective: To investigate the correlation between mental stress and musculoskeletal symptoms in physical therapy students in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted virtually with 116 undergraduate physical therapy students from various regions of Brazil who were engaged in remote academic activities. A sociodemographic and academic profile questionnaire, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) were applied. Pearson’s correlation was used to assess the relationship between the number of body regions with musculoskeletal symptoms and perceived stress. Results: Most participants were females (83.6%), with a mean age of 23.17 ± 5.37 years. Nearly all the students (94.0%) reported musculoskeletal symptoms in at least one body region, the most affected areas being the neck (69.0%), upper back (62.1%), and shoulders (59.9%). On the NMQ, participants reported a mean of 3.99 ± 2.23 body regions with musculoskeletal symptoms, and 24.47 ± 6.79 on the PSS-10. There was a weak positive correlation between the number of musculoskeletal symptoms and stress (r = 0.35; p < 0.001). Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in physical therapy students during the COVID-19 pandemic and a relationship was observed between the number of musculoskeletal symptoms and mental stress.